‘Now that we have that sorted out, the only thing that remains is to buy you an engagement ring,’ he announced, rising to his feet. ‘Get your coat or something, we’re going out.’
‘Where are we going?’ she asked in astonishment.
‘To buy the ring, naturally.’
‘At this hour?’ she questioned disbelievingly.
A flicker of a smile played about his lips. ‘I have a friend waiting at his shop this minute to show us his selection of rings. ’
Joanne shrugged helplessly and went through to her room to collect a light summer coat. Daniel Grant certainly did not believe in wasting time, she thought as she slipped her arms into the sleeves and checked her appearance in the mirror. Her face looked pale, and she pinched her cheeks absently in an effort to regain some colour before she rejoined Daniel in the lounge.
It was going to be the strangest marriage she had ever imagined, Joanne thought as she sat beside him in his car while they drove to the centre of the city. It was like playing a game; a game of pretence, and the result would have to be convincing for the sake of his mother—and Bruce.
‘Here we are,’ Daniel said, parking the car at the entrance to a well-known jeweller. ‘I can see Richard waiting inside for us.’
It was all at once like a nightmare, and she somehow found herself seated beside Daniel with a tray containing the most exquisite diamond rings in front of her. Their sparkle mocked and dazzled her into a hypnotic state that made it impossible for her to carry out Daniel’s order to choose one.
‘They’re all so—so beautiful,’ she managed at last, her glance pleading as it met Daniel’s. ‘Perhaps if—if you would choose one?’
‘If you’ll permit me, Dr. Grant,’ the man Daniel had called ‘Richard’ intervened apologetically, his dark glance resting speculatively on Joanne. ‘Your fiancee hasn’t the colouring for the usual white diamond. She needs something with a little more warmth and character to match her appearance. ’
Daniel turned slightly towards Joanne, his glance sliding over her systematically until her cheeks flamed with embarrassment. ‘You’re right, Richard, and I think I know exactly which one would suit her best. ’
Without hesitation, Daniel removed a ring from the tray and, taking her cold hand in his, he slipped the ring on to her finger. It was the most magnificent yellow diamond Joanne had ever seen, and it was set between two smaller diamonds of a similar colour. The fit was perfect as it sparkled on her finger beneath the light, and her throat tightened curiously when she thought of the exorbitant price Daniel would have to pay for a ring which was merely part of a game of pretence.
‘Please, it’s—it’s far too expensive,’ she managed to choke out the words.
‘Do you like it?’
‘It’s beautiful, but—’
‘Then it’s yours,’ he said abruptly, nodding to Richard. The trays were deftly removed and the transaction was completed while Joanna remained seated where she was, unable to take her eyes off the ring Daniel had placed so carelessly on her finger.
‘May I wish you and your future wife every happiness, Dr. Grant,’ the man said, bowing slightly.
‘Thank you, Richard,’ Daniel said calmly, drawing Joanne to her feet. ‘We appreciate your good wishes, don’t we, darling?’ Darling. The way he said it, it sounded so absolutely natural, she thought as she murmured a reply, but they both knew that it was merely for the benefit of the jeweller who observed them so closely.
When they were alone once more, driving through the busy streets, Joanne voiced her disturbed thoughts. ‘Dr. Grant, I feel terrible about accepting such an expensive ring. Our marriage—’
‘Our marriage must appear as normal as possible,’ he interrupted smoothly. ‘If I’d placed a ring of inferior quality on your finger, my mother would be instantly suspicious, and so, I’m sure, would Bruce.’
That was so, of course, but it offered her little comfort as she sat there silently beside him, the unfamiliarity of his engagement ring on her finger forcing her to face the reality of the situation.
‘Where are you taking me?’ she asked nervously when she realised he had passed the turn-off to her flat.
‘My mother is waiting at home to meet you,’ he told her calmly, and Joanne tensed instantly beside him, glancing down at her plain cotton frock and rather drab coat.
‘You could have warned me, Dr. Grant,’ she accused him with a touch of anger in her voice.
‘To have warned you would have made you more nervous than you already are,’ he replied calmly. ‘And I think it’s about time you start calling me Daniel.’
Alarm flashed through her. ‘I—I couldn’t! ’
‘You’ll have to,’ he commanded without taking his eyes off the road. ‘Start practising now.’
Joanne’s throat tightened. ‘Habit dies hard.’
‘Say that again, but this time add my name to it,’ he persisted ruthlessly, and Joanne had the strangest notion that he was deriving a certain amount of amusement out of this situation.
‘I hate repeating myself, but I will admit that it won’t be easy breaking through the barrier of hospital protocol,’ she replied
finally, glancing at him as she added a hesitant, ‘Daniel. ’
‘That’s better,’ he laughed briefly. ‘It will come easier each time you use it. ’
Joanne sat silently beside him, realising eventually that they were approaching Constantia, where Dr. Grant’s lovely gabled home was barely visible from the road as it stood among the oak and silver trees. When they eventually drove through the wrought-iron gates, and up the circular driveway towards the large, imposing house, Joanne was barely able to control the shaking of her limbs. She had not been so nervous since that first time she had sat in on an operation as a student nurse.
‘I don’t suppose it’s necessary for me to remind you that we shall have to indulge in a little play-acting?’ Daniel remarked as he switched off the engine and turned towards her, his head and shoulders a dark silhouette against the night sky.
‘I’ll do my best,’ she promised.
‘You’ll have to do a little more than your best,’ he warned. ‘My mother may be ill, but she’s still very perceptive, and I want her totally convinced. ’
‘I shan’t let you down, Dr. Grant—Daniel,’ she corrected, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she heard him laugh softly to himself.
The air was cool and filled with the scent of frangipani as they stepped out of the car, and Joanne stood for a moment, drawing on her training as a nurse to gain the necessary composure to face the ordeal ahead of her.
‘This way,’ said Daniel, taking her arm and leading her up the shallow steps towards the heavy oak door with its ornamental brass knocker.
In the large, dimly lit entrance hall with its two stinkwood chests, Joanne drew back nervously. ‘Daniel ... do I look all right?’
‘No, you don’t,’ he said abruptly, the gleam of mockery in his eyes making her realise that she had phrased her question badly. ‘You’re far too pale, but I shall remedy that. ’
His hand grasped her chin firmly and, before she had time to guess his intentions, his mouth had fastened on to hers. Caught off guard, she kissed him back, her heartbeats quickening as she felt his hand in the hollow of her back drawing her closer until their bodies touched. This was not their agreement, she decided in a moment of panic, raising her hands to his chest and pushing him away roughly.
‘That was uncalled for,’ she accused angrily.
‘Perhaps,’ he agreed, his eyes on her flushed cheeks, ‘but you’re beginning to look more like someone who’s just become engaged. Come!’
He caught her hand in his and drew her towards a door leading off to the right. He opened it without knocking, then, placing a careless arm about her shoulders, he drew her into what was obviously the living-room.
Joanne was all at once aware of several things; the heavy gold drapes hanging down to the floor at the windows, the marble fireplac
e with the ornamental brass clock on the mantelshelf above it, and an elderly nurse hovering over a frail-looking woman seated on the Louis XV-style sofa.
‘Mother,’ said Daniel, his arm disturbing and protective about Joanne as he propelled her forward, ‘I’ve brought my fiancee home to meet you. Joanne, this is my mother, and this,’ he gestured towards the other woman, ‘is my mother’s nurse-companion, Sister Johnson.’
Serena Grant’s skin was almost translucent, her blue eyes large and smiling in her thin face as she gazed up at Joanne. ‘My dear, I’ve been longing to meet you ever since ... ’ She hesitated briefly, glancing at Daniel. ‘Ever since Daniel gave me the wonderful news. ’
Her appearance awakened Joanne’s sympathy, and something more. Recognition. But where had she seen this woman before? she wondered curiously. ‘I’ve been looking forward to meeting you as well, Mrs. Grant.’ Sister Johnson detached herself from Mrs. Grant’s side. ‘I’ll leave you for a while, but don’t overtire yourself. ’
‘Stop fussing, Sister Johnson,’ Mrs. Grant said irritably. ‘I’m perfectly capable of taking care of myself. ’
‘It’s already thirty minutes after your bedtime,’ Sister Johnson warned, taking her employer’s show of temper in her stride.
‘Yes, yes,’ Serena Grant gestured impatiently with her hands. ‘Go and do whatever it is you do when I’m safely tucked up in bed, and stop ordering me about as if I were a child.’
‘I merely mentioned—’
‘It’s all right, Sister Johnson,’ Daniel intervened swiftly. ‘Just this once we’ll slacken the rules, but we shan’t keep her longer than another half hour. ’
Sister Johnson nodded agreeably. ‘Very well, Dr. Grant.’
‘That woman is going to drive me insane, I tell you,’ his mother complained the moment they were alone, and Joanne found it difficult to suppress a smile.
‘Nonsense, Mother,’ Daniel reprimanded gently. ‘You just love having someone around to fuss over you, and you’d be miserable if she left. Admit it.’
‘I’ll do nothing of the sort,’ she said haughtily, amusement lurking in her glance as she patted the space beside her on the sofa. ‘Come and sit here beside me, Joanne, and you, Daniel, draw up a chair so that I can look at you both without straining my neck. Now,’ she said, taking Joanne’s hand once they were seated, ‘let me see your ring. Ah, yes, you made the right choice, child.’
‘Daniel made the choice, Mrs. Grant,’ Joanne admitted, finding it surprisingly easy to use his name.
‘Then I’m glad to see that he had sense enough to select something that suited you, my dear,’ the grey-haired woman stated her approval, and Joanne’s glance went swiftly to Daniel. ‘When is the wedding to be?’
Joanne’s mouth went dry, and Daniel stepped swiftly into the breach. ‘We’ve decided not to wait longer than three weeks, Mother.’
Three weeks, Joanne thought. Three weeks of freedom before she became Daniel Grant’s wife. His wife for a year, perhaps, but not for ever.
CHAPTER THREE
‘We must celebrate your engagement, Daniel,’ Serena Grant insisted, clasping her hands excitedly against her breast. ‘There’s a bottle of champagne on ice in the kitchen. Be a dear boy and fetch it. ’
‘You think of everything, Mother,’ he laughed briefly as he rose to do her bidding.
The moment he left the room, Mrs. Grant turned her attention to Joanne. ‘My dear, I’ve waited so long for Daniel to take a wife, and I was beginning to despair that I would never have the pleasure of knowing my daughter-in-law.’
‘Mrs. Grant, I—’
‘I know I haven’t long to live, Joanne,’ Serena Grant interrupted calmly, fingering the single string of pearls about her neck. ‘Knowing this has made it all the more important for me to see my son happily married before I go. You may think me an extremely silly old woman, but—’
‘I understand, Mrs. Grant,’ Joanne interrupted hastily, suppressing her feelings of guilt, and finding herself drawn towards this frail woman beside her. Where had she seen her before?’Mrs. Grant—forgive me, but—have we met somewhere before?’
The thin bony hand tightened momentarily on the pearls. ‘I don’t think so, child. I seldom forget a face. ’
Daniel came in at that moment with the bottle of champagne and three glasses on a tray, and they lapsed into silence as he placed it on a low table close to the sofa.
‘Don’t get a fright,’ he warned as he removed the silver wrapping and eased off the cork. It popped loudly, and the next moment the cork dropped into Joanne’s lap.
‘How wonderful!’ Mrs. Grant exclaimed delightedly. ‘That means your first child will be a boy.’
‘That’s superstitious nonsense, Mother, and you know it,’ Daniel accused gently, his glance resting on Joanne who wished the floor would open up beneath her. ‘Besides, you’re embarrassing Joanne. ’
‘Rubbish!’ his mother argued. ‘Doctors and nurses are never embarrassed. They work every day with human bodies and their various functions. ’
Joanne recovered swiftly, depositing the cork on the low rosewood table as she turned to meet the humorous glance of the woman beside her. ‘Outside the hospital walls we’re just as vulnerable as anyone else, and just as susceptible to embarrassment. ’
Serena Grant’s steady glance never wavered as she nodded her approval. ‘I think I’m going to like you, Joanne, and you must come and visit me whenever you have time off from work.’
‘I would like that very much, Mrs. Grant,’ Joanne agreed with a rush of warmth.
‘Your champagne, Mother,’ said Daniel, placing her glass in her hand, then, drawing Joanne to her feet, he picked up the two remaining glasses and handed her one before slipping his arms about her waist. ‘To us,’ he said briefly, touching the side of his glass to hers.
The bubbles tickled her nose as she sipped her champagne, observing Daniel’s mother over the rim of her glass as she drank, and wishing with all her heart it had not been necessary to fool this wonderfully courageous woman into believing that their marriage would be a real one.
Sister Johnson marched in a few minutes later. ‘Your half hour is up, Mrs. Grant. It’s time you were in bed.’
‘Oh, really!’ Serena Grant said exasperatedly. ‘You’re behaving like an over-zealous watchdog. ’
‘Now, Mother, you’ve been up much later than usual this evening, and you have nothing to complain about,’ Daniel intervened with a gentle reprimand. ‘You’ve met Joanne, and you’ve had your champagne. Now it’s time you went to bed.’
‘You all fuss too much,’ Serena Grant complained.
‘It’s for your own good, Mother. ’
‘I know,’ she smiled suddenly, allowing Daniel to help her to her feet. ‘Goodnight, Daniel, and you, Joanne,’ she extended a hand and Joanne clasped it between her own. ‘Come again soon.’ ‘As soon as I possibly can, Mrs. Grant,’ she promised. ‘Goodnight.’
Sister Johnson took over from Daniel and, taking Serena Grant’s arm, she led her from the living-room.
‘I think your mother is wonderful, considering what she must be going through,’ Joanne remarked thoughtfully once they were alone.
‘She’s not the kind of person to let life get her down,’ said Daniel, gesturing towards her empty glass. ‘More champagne?’
‘Dare I?’ she laughed nervously.
‘You have nothing to fear.’
‘I never imagined I had,’ she replied soberly as she watched him refill their glasses.
The situation was unreal, Joanne thought to herself as they sat drinking their champagne. The day before she had been unattached, and had not the slightest intention of marrying anyone, and here she was calmly sipping champagne, an engagement ring weighing heavily on her finger, and three weeks left to her wedding day.
She raised her glance to find Daniel observing her closely. ‘How old are you, Joanne?’
‘Twenty-four,’ she replied without hesitation. ‘And you?’
‘Thirty-five.’
She had guessed his age to be somewhere in that vicinity, but it was unusual to find a man of his age who was still single. ‘Have you never considered marrying someone and settling down? Does your freedom mean so much to you?’
His glance was mocking. ‘I’m marrying you, aren’t I?’ Joanne lowered her eyes to the glass in her hands, watching the bubbles in the champagne rise to the surface and disintegrate as she said: ‘This is different.’
‘Yes,’ Daniel agreed harshly. ‘You needed the money to pay your brother’s university fees, and I needed a wife to satisfy my mother’s whim. It’s not a very good basis for a
marriage, is it?’
Joanne winced inwardly, wondering why the truth should hurt so much. ‘Our kind of marriage doesn’t need a solid basis when we don’t intend to continue with it. ’
Daniel’s lips tightened. ‘Have you told Bruce yet?’
‘No, not yet,’ she replied, wondering distractedly how her brother would take the news of her marriage. ‘I’ll ask him to come round to my flat tomorrow evening.’
‘Would you like me to be there with you when you tell him?’
‘I would rather tell him myself,’ she said, surprised at his offer. ‘But I think it’s an ideal opportunity for you to meet each other. I’ll ask Bruce to be there at seven. Would you give us half an hour alone together before you arrive?’
‘Very well,’ Daniel agreed abruptly. ‘Drink up and I’ll take you home. ’
Joanne’s thoughts revolved around Serena Grant as Daniel drove her back to her flat, and she experienced a stab of guilt on each occasion when she called his mother’s image to mind. She wanted her son happily married before she died, but if only she knew what a farce this marriage would be. Her blue eyes, so like Daniel’s, had been trusting and content, with a hint of sadness lurking in their depths. Her displays of temperament were merely a cover, Joanne had realised soon enough. It stemmed from a determination to avoid sympathy, while she kept to herself the painful knowledge that her time was so incredibly short.
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